Sign and fixture therefor



July 21, 1959 H. c. MEN-GES 2,395,246

' SIGN AND FIXTURE THEREFOR Filed March 16, 1956 I INVENTOR. J2 E Hog 4C/Vf/VGES I w/ J f-roRNEY United States The present invention relates tosigns and more particularly to a means or fixture for mounting signs.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide asign, particularly of the light reflecting type, which will quicklyattract a persons attention either during the day or night.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fixture for mountingsigns such as traflic signs and the like, which causes or permits thesign to quiver, vibrate, oscillate, or otherwise move rapidly inresponse to air movements and earth vibrations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sign fixture of theaforesaid type which can be easily fabricated and readily mounted on asupport and which will give long trouble-free service in the field.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a signfixture for performing the foregoing operation, which can readily beattached to conventional sign supports and used with conventional signattaching means and devices and which can be used with said signs andsupports without making any changes or alterations in either.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a sign mounted on a support withmy sign fixture which is shown in broken lines behind said sign.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a sign supported by my fixture mountedon a suitable post or the like;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of my sign fixture;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of my sign fixture taken on line 4-4 ofFigure 2; and

Figures 5 and 6 are plan views of modifications of my invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to Figures 1 and 2 inparticular, a traflic sign 10 is shown secured to my sign fixture 12 bybolts 14 and 16 and the fixture is secured to a post 18 by bolts 20 and22 extending through a member of the fixture and through the post. Thepost is set in the ground and may be rigidly secured therein withconcrete if desired.

My fixture 12 has a longitudinal member 24 secured to the sign, a member26 secured to post 18 and springs 30 and 32 secured to the turned overends of each member 24 and 26. These two springs may be joined tomembers 24 and 26 by any suitable means; preferably, however, eyes oneach end of the springs are looped through holes in the turned over endsof said members. The springs are of such length relative to the spacingbetween the corresponding ends of members 24 and 26 that they are undertension when they are assembled between said ends, as shown in Figures 2and 3. When the springs are assembled in place between the ends of themembers, said members will readily rotate or oscillate relative to oneanother on an axis corresponding to the axis of the two springs. If myfixture is properly assembled, the two springs tend to hold members 24and 26 in the posiatent 2,895,245 Patented July 21, 1959 ice tion shownin Figures 2 and 3, i.e. on opposite sides of the axis of said springs,and will snap the members back to that position if they are rotatedtherefrom. In order to prevent the sign from oscillating in an are solarge that it would be diflicult for someone standing directly in frontof the normal straight forward position of the sign to read the signwhen it is at either end of the are, a relatively broad member 34mounted on member 26 and extending within close proximity of the innerside of member 24 is provided to act as a stop means to limit the arc ofoscillation of member 24. Member 34 is rigidly secured to member 26which in turn is rigidly secured to post 18. When member 24 oscillateson the axis corresponding to that of the springs, the edge of member 24engages the broad free end 35 of member 34, abruptly stopping themovement of member 24 in that direction and causing it to bounce back inthe opposite direction of oscillation.

In the operation of my sign fixture, after springs 30 and 32 have beenassembled in place between the ends of members 24 and 26 and member 34has been mounted on member 26, a sign, such as a traflic stop sign asshown in Figure l, is mounted on member 24 by bolts 14 and 16 and member26 is mounted on post 18 by bolts 20 and 22. With the sign mounted inthis manner, a slight breeze will cause the sign to oscillate rapidly toand fro on the spring axis but only to the extent permitted by stopmember 34. If the sign is located close to a highway or street carryingheavy vehicle, particularly trucks and busses, the vibration created bythese vehicles on the highway orstreet will be transmitted through theground to the sign mounting and into springs 30 and 32 setting upquivering or slight dancing action in the sign. The foregoing movementsin the sign, all of which are rapid but very limited in magnitude,quickly attract the attention of the drivers on the highway or street assoon as the sign becomes visible to them. This increases the time inwhich the driver has to react to the warning on the sign before positiveaction is required, thus increasing highway safety. This is particularlytrue when special light reflecting signs, i.e. signs having speciallyprepared surfaces to enhance the light reflective characteristic of thesign, including surfaces of powdered glass and glass beads, are used inconjunction with my fixture since the reflection from the car lights atnight or the sun in the daytime creates the appearance of a rapidlyflickering lighted sign. As pointed out previously, the arc ofoscillation and scope of quivering and vibrating movement is notsufiicient to interfere with the rapid reading of the sign.

The fixture just described can be modified or changed to suitrequirements and may be made in upper and lower sections only, with theintermediate portion of each member 24 and 26 being omitted to savemetal. In this arrangement stop member 34 can be attached to either theupper or lower part of the member 26 and may be secured to the post bybolt 20 or 22.

Further, member 34 will operate effectively when secured to member 24 ofthe embodiment of Figures 2 and 3 or the separate part thereof of theembodiment described in this paragraph. Various other types of stopmembers will readily occur to those skilled in the art and can besubstituted for the one shown in Figures 1 through 3.

In the modification shown in Figure 5, a coil spring 40 is secured atone end to the sign 10 and at the other end to post 18. In securing thespring to both the sign and post cross members 42 and 44 having a centerhole therein are inserted between the coils adjacent the ends of thespring, and bolts 46 and 47 are inserted through the respective crossmembers, and the sign and post. One or a plurality of springs may beused for each sign which will quiver or vibrate on said springs inresponse to air currents and earth vibrations. The extent of quiveringand vibration by the sign is limited by a sleeve or bracket 48 aroundthe spring.

The modification shown in Figure 6 is similar to that shown in Figureexcept that a leaf spring 50 is substituted for coil spring 40. Spring50 is provided with laterally projecting ends 51 and 52 with holes forreceiving bolts 53 and 54 to secure the spring to the sign and post,respectively. Since the leaf spring permits the sign to oscillate onlyon a single plane, a U-shaped bracket or a member, such as that used inconnection with the embodiment of Figure 2, can be conveniently usedwith this fixture. As an alternative the hole in the post can beenlarged to receive the spring and permit limited free movement thereinas shown in Figure 6, the portion of the post adjacent the sign and thespring serving as effective stop members to limit the movement of thesign. This enlarged hole arrangement in the mounting post can also beused with the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

While reference in the specification has been made principally to theuse of my fixture with highway and street signs it is apparent that thefixture would have application in the advertising sign field and thisuse comes within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A sign, comprising a-sign panel, a rigid support for said panel, afixture for resiliently mounting said panel on said support including avertically arranged bar-like member attached to the sign panel andhaving laterally extending ends, a vertically arranged bar-like memberof a length different from that of the first member attached to saidsupport and having laterally extending ends, the lateral ends of theshorter of said means being disposed between the lateral ends of thelonger of said members, springs mounted between the respective ends ofsaid members and supporting said first mentioned member in spacedrelation to said second mentioned member, and a means attached to one ofsaid members for limiting the rotational movement of said panel on themountings provided by said springs.

2. A sign, comprising a light reflecting sign panel, a

rigid support for said panel, a fixture for resiliently mounting saidpanel on said support including a vertically arranged bar-like memberattached to the sign panel and having laterally extending ends, avertically arranged bar-like member of a shorter length than said firstmember attached to said support and having laterally extending endsbetween the lateral ends of said first mentioned member, coil springsmounted between the respective ends of said members and supporting saidfirst mentioned member in spaced relation to said second mentionedmember, and a means attached to said last member and projecting to apoint close to said first member for limiting the rotational movement ofsaid panel on the mountings provided by said springs.

3. A sign, comprising a sign panel, a rigid support for said panel, afixture for resiliently mounting said panel on said support including avertically arranged member attached to the sign panel and havinglaterally extending ends, a vertically arranged member of a lengthdiflerent from that of the first member attached to said support andhaving laterally extending ends, the lateral ends of the shorter of saidmeans being disposed between the lateral ends of the longer of saidmembers, resilient means mounted between the respective ends of saidmembers and supporting said first mentioned member in spaced relation tosaid second mentioned member, and a means for limiting the rotationalmovement of said panel on the mountings provided by said resilientmeans. p

4. A sign, comprising a sign panel, a support for said panel, a fixturefor resiliently mounting said panel on said support including meansattached to the sign panel and having laterally extending ends, means ofa length different from that of and parallel to the first means attachedto said support and having laterally extending ends, the lateral ends ofthe shorter of said means being disposed between the lateral ends of thelonger of said means, resilient means mounted between the respectiveends of said means and supporting said first mentioned means in spacedrelation to said second mentioned means, and a means for limiting therotational move- 'ment of said panel on the mountings provided by saidresilient means.

5. A fixture for a sign structure having a sign panel and a rigidsupport therefor, comprising two spaced and vertically arranged coilsprings in axial alignment and parallel to the sign panel, members formovably connecting the opposite end of each spring to the sign, membersspaced from said first members for movably connecting the other oppositeend of each spring to said support, and a means for limiting themovement of the sign relative to the support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

